[Dixielandjazz] CD costs

[tcashwigg at aol.com]

Dear Ed & All:

In all actuality the probability of any OKOM act on this list to show 
up on the Radar screen is almost nill, those folks do not even know you 
exists, however many of you have read enough of the horror stories 
planted in the media that it scares you away from doing anything except 
by their book of rules  which they break themselves every day of the 
week.

There are ways to get your CDs manufactured by those duplicators 
legally, read the clause very carefully, like many others in legal 
jargon it is a matter of interpretation.   What they are asking and 
making you sign is simply a way to pass the buck of responsibility for 
those mechanical royalties down to you and not make them accountable as 
the collection agent for them.

You are signing that YOU, or your band or your record label owns the 
works embodied therein on the master and the CDs being made from it 
etc.  it is primarily to keep them off the hook from any "Potential 
Lawsuits" not there ever would be any anyway for any Dixieland Band 
manufacturing a short run of 1000 or so CDs  which according to most on 
this list would never be sold in that amount anyway.

Do you really think the Harry Fox agency or ASCAP is going to come hunt 
you down to try and collect royalties on 1000 CDs, and discover that 
you still have 700 of them in your garage, and that you actually can 
prove that you gave away another hundred to your friends and family?    
Highly unlikely,  they are looking for deep pockets to stick their hand 
into.

Same tactics used by the IRS VERY EFFECTIVELY to try and control all 
the small fish while the bigger ones with all the Real money slip and 
slide through life paying little or nothing.    They all are looking 
for the easy Buck and it does not start with Dixieland Music you can 
Bet on that.

   If you can't find them chances of them ever finding you are even 
less. :))  Heck we will all be Dead by the time they find us.

If you get a big Hit and become Really Famous they will find you but 
until then don't lose any sleep over it folks.
Good luck with getting Festival producers to do any compliance as well, 
nobody can even get them to come up with decent money to pay the live 
bands.  The whole system of Dixieland is somehow seemingly stuck in the 
economy of 1940 and refuses to move into the 21st Century.

Cheers,

Tom  Wiggins
***************************************

Mike, how about the new one (at least to me) - mechanical licenses? 
We're
doing a new CD with the Bob Cats which requires me to obtain mechanical 
licenses

  from publishers/administrators, assuming you can even find them, which 
will
add  nearly $2.00 to the cost of each CD. All of the major replicators 
(CD
Production  Houses) now make it mandatory to have mechanical licenses 
before
they
will  commit to stamping out copies. The lawyers seem to have won 
again. My
concern is  that it will lead to even more piracy and illegal copying.
    Further, I'm seriously considering starting a  movement to require
festival promoters to make it mandatory that all new CDs  being offered 
for sale
at
their festivals require evidence that the CDs were  produced in 
compliance
with the new licensing laws. Why should I be required to  have a $2.00 
per item
cost, when the CD next to mine on the sales table,  produced by a fly 
by night
replicator, not have it? Fair is fair, isn't it.  Stay tuned.
     I've just spent two solid weeks of my time  wrestling with this 
issue -
yes, that's at least 80 hours. I know of only one  other band now 
active on the
festival circuit who is in compliance at this time.  Any feedback?
    Hope to see you in Monterey next month.    Ed Metz
_______________________________________________
Dixielandjazz mailing list
Dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com
http://ml.islandnet.com/mailman/listinfo/dixielandjazz